


Seen.

by Darth_Rainbow_Queen_Of_Coconuts



Category: MCU, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: American Pi - Freeform, F/F, I was craving some American Pi content so I made some, M/M, Ned Leeds definitely got Tony Stark a mug saying 'best sugar daddy in the world', Steven Grant Rogers carries antibacterial gel pass it on, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:28:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23306065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darth_Rainbow_Queen_Of_Coconuts/pseuds/Darth_Rainbow_Queen_Of_Coconuts
Summary: This is basically an excuse for writing soft Avengers friendships and domesticity. With a slice of American Pi on the side. Tony is gold, Bruce is silver, so used to everybody else looking at gold that he can't quite compute that someone could see him. Steve sees him. It's a shame he's bad at telling the scientist he does.
Relationships: American Pi, Bruce Banner & Happy Hogan, Bruce Banner & Ned Leeds, Bruce Banner & Peter Parker, Bruce Banner & Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark, Bruce Banner/Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes & Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes & Sharon Carter, Clint Barton & Bruce Banner, Clint Barton & Steve Rogers, Clint Barton/Phil Coulson, Natasha Romanoff & Bruce Banner, Natasha Romanoff & Bucky Barnes, Sharon Carter & Bruce Banner, Sharon Carton/Natasha Romanoff, Steve Rogers & Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanoff, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark, Tony Stark & Clint Barton, Tony Stark & James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Tony Stark & Ned Leeds, Tony Stark & Pepper Potts, Tony Stark & Peter Parker
Comments: 2
Kudos: 44





	Seen.

"Checkmate. _Checkmate?_ " Steve paused furrowing his brows as he looked over the chessboard again. "Checkmate!" He repeated excitedly as Bruce chuckled, bringing the cup of tea to his lips. He took a careful sip before offering the Supersoldier a smile. "You didn't let me win, right?" Steve asked, narrowing his eyes at Bruce. The good doctor shook his head, making the blond's smile widen.

Now Bruce could've laid down his King a little while back, had he been certain Steve even knew he had won. But the supersoldier didn't point it out and seemed rather pleased with himself as he grew closer to fully circling Bruce's king. Chess being a gentleman's game, the gamma expert had continued to please his opponent. "Congratulations." He told Steve before emptying his cup of tea. He looked down at his phone, seeing another face time alert from Tony. Sighing softly, he picked it up. "You're aware that I'm not really one of your hired consultant, right?" He asked in lieu of a 'hello'.

Tony rolled his eyes. "You're aware that you're still on payroll though?" He shot back. "Come on, ditch the Capsicle, come to the land of wonders! I think I might have found a way to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect." Just as he finished his sentence, the doors of the elevators opened, revealing a grinning Tony Stark. He ended the call and shoved his phone in the back pocket of his jeans. "I felt like being there in person would be more convincing." The engineer said, moving toward the small table at near the window the two had chosen to play at. He found an amused Bruce and a frustrated looking Steve. "Frosty fossile." He spoke before focusing on his science bro. "What if the particle did not loose any probability amplitude when it reached a potential barrier? No semiclassical or quasiclassical bullshit like the WKB approximation. No arbitrary precision so bye bye Feynman's path integral. I'm talking about the real deal."

Bruce's eyes widened. "How?" He asked.

"Remember the rectangular potential barrier model? A particle actually behaving as a matter wave has a _non-zero_ probability of penetrating the barrier and continuing its travel as a wave on the other side."

Bruce nodded. "Evanescence wave coupling."

"Yep. Okay so we know that an electromagnetic wave experiences partial transmittance and partial reflectance when the medium through which it travels suddenly changes. But what if it believed it had not? The particle I mean."

"So instead of wave coupling it'd be the same wave on both sides of the barrier? How?"

"Moi aussi je parles une langue étrangère." Steve cut in, effectively reminding the both of them of his presence. Bruce chuckled while Tony's eyes narrowed. "What? If we're gonna speak in foreign languages I wanna contribute." He said and shrugged, non-apologetic.

"I'm sorry, am I missing something here?" Tony asked. "Shouldn't you be at the gym punching bags or doing a thousand push ups by now?" He asked.

Steve frowned. "No." He replied. "No, no. I was just enjoying a very fine afternoon until you interrupted. What's with the attitude?" He shot back.

Bruce threw his head back and sighed deeply. Tony and Steve's communication fashion. They should just get over themselves and just fuck each other's brains out. That'd calm the both of them. When he lowered his head from looking at the ceiling, he noticed the both of them's eyes on him. "Whaaaat? Did I say it aloud?" He asked, unbothered.

Steve nodded, the tip of his ears reddened. Tony huffed. "I'm definitely not attracted to him. I'm frustrated. He's frustrating!"

"You're frustrating!" Steve shot back. "Also he, is here."

Tony scoffed. "I'm not frustrating, you are!"

"And you're behaving like a four year old that just wants to get to play with his toy. Except Bruce isn't your toy."

"Why? Because he is yours?" Tony shot back.

"No because he's.." Steve's mouth fell open as he put his hand on his hips. Oh no. Oh no, no, no. The righteousness was about to pour out and make him say or do something stupid. Even he could sense it. "As a matter of fact. Yes. Yes. Let's say that. Yes. Bruce is mine. And you don't get to boss him around today. He's got a day off to spend. With me." Thank God he stopped himself before he uttered 'That will teach you a lesson' out loud.

Tony's mouth fell open for a second, his eyes flickered from Bruce to Steve then he narrowed his eyes. "If you're with him, why did he just that we should fuck each other's brains out?" He asked.

Oh no. Now Steve had a wounded puppy look on his face as he glanced toward Bruce. Cursing his instincts, the doctor felt himself cleared his throat. "Because..." He inhaled deeply then exhaled. "I... can't have sex. I mean, I haven't tried since the Hulk because it's a hazard and Steve hasn't been with anyone in so long. He deserves a good lay. And according to a lot of people, you're a good lay." He cleared his throat. "Besides it would do good for everyone if the tension between the two of you had somewhat appeased itself. So I'm willing to..." He shrugged. "Take one for the team and let that... Happen." He tried, eyes falling shut at his own disbelief of the nonsense that kept pouring out of his mouth.

However, both Tony and Steve seemed to have paused. "You can't have sex?" Tony asked, in mild shock. "I will not stand around while one of my best friends is forced into abstinence! I'll do something. You take your week off to be with your Mary Sue while I work on some stuff. I think I have a good idea that could help." Before anyone could say anything else, the doors of the elevator were swallowing him.

"Notice that I say that with all the care I can muster for you Steve, but..." Bruce sighed. "You're an idiot."

"I know! He's just... So infuriating sometimes!" The blond argued.

Bruce sighed again. "We all know that. Most of us got over it. I think you just desperately crave for friction and if it can't be sex, well, it's banter." He pointed out, saddened by the fact that his cup of tea was empty thus not worth bringing to his lips to loudly sip from.

Steve grunted. "Maybe." He grunted. "But he's still an ass. So thank you for helping me with that one."

"Yeah, let's just..." Bruce pulled a face, scrunching up his nose. "Forget all about this terrible case of logorrhea we just had. I'm sure Tony's going to be so focused on finding a way to ensure I can have sex that he'll forget about the us dating part."

"About that..." Steve slightly furrowed his brows. "Is it true?" Bruce silently nodded. "Ah, okay. Well, I mean, you were right about me too. I haven't slept with anyone in..." He paused. "I haven't slept with anyone. Period."

To his credit, Bruce almost did not react, just a slight twitch of his eyes that he easily got under control. "That's a shame." He said. "I mean, look at you, that's a waste, man. How do you even swing? I mean, Kinsey Scale speaking?"

Steve shrugged. "I'm more of a, what's the expression again? The one we heard in that tv show?"

Bruce snorted. "Freewheeling bisexual?"

Steve nodded. "Right. Yes."

That made the scientist laugh. "Amazing. Then get yourself out there. Live. Experience. Make out. A lot. I bet you'd be good at it."

Steve faintly blushed. "That's... I'm... Huh..." He let his tongue dart between his lips. "Tony?"

Bruce blinked. "Oh right. You're into Tony. Right. Well, odds are when you get together, he's going to gleefully introduce you to it all."

Steve chuckled. "I appreciate the use of 'when' and not 'if' but I can't even have a solid conversation with him. I doubt this ridiculous pining of mine is going anywhere."

Bruce shrugged. "I mean, you should probably get yourself a distraction then. Everybody living in the Compound would appreciate it if you diffused some of the tension. Maybe Sam? I've definitely seen him check you out when you wear that ridiculously tight white shirt to go on runs with him."

Steve chuckled. "Not since he's met a girl at a veteran party Rhodey took him." He shook his head. "Not that I'm desperate for sex or anything. I mean, I don't miss what I've never had." He shrugged. "But having someone to wake up to in the morning and fall asleep next to at night? Having someone who'd tell me about their day while we cook or some silly stuff like that? Well, I wouldn't mind." Bruce silently nodded at the words, memories of his own time with Betty passing in his head. "Man, do I miss Buck in those moments. Don't get me wrong, I love having my best friend back and I love that he feels comfortable enough in his skin to go out there and be the Winter Soldier for the right reasons. I love him. But it's different. And I think I hate that it is. It's selfish isn't it? To want things to be right like they used to?"

Bruce shook his head. "You were happy back then. You just want to find that sort of happiness again. It's okay to want things for yourself."

Steve sighed. "Thanks. I'll just..." He brought a hand to the back of his head. "I'm gonna... I don't know."

Bruce sighed softly. "Steve, would you like to go out?"

Steve furrowed his brows. "Sure...?" He answered, uncertain.

"Great. Take your sketchbook, we're going to Central Park." The soldier nodded, smiling just a little as he directed himself to the elevator. Bruce sighed again, seemingly exhausted as he stood up and went to the sink, planning to clean his mug before they left. Natasha and Bucky really needed to come back from wherever their latest mission had sent them.

~*~

What Bruce had meant by going out was not a date. _(Very much to Steve's disappointment.)_ At least until the soldier saw the scientist stop his hasty pace through the dense crowd of New York. It was November, Steve could feel the nip of the wind on his cheeks but here he stood, right next to Bruce as the other bought himself Ice Cream. A large vanilla cone later, the pace had significantly slowed as the two entered Central Park. "I don't claim to have the eye of an aesthete," Bruce started. "but," he gestured around them. "the colors, I think, are pretty great."

Steve blinked, shifting his gaze from the scientist to their surroundings. He'd been there before, obviously, for jogging. But he'd never stopped to truly look. To appreciate. To admire. Slowly, the blond spun on himself, a pleased expression taking over his features as he drank the sight in. Rich ocre colors, drowning in warmer browns with discreet hues of green fading away in a gentle yellow. "Yeah..." He grinned. "The colors are pretty great." He agreed with Bruce who had decided to just bite into his ice cream. "Why?" He blurted out before he could stop himself.

Bruce shrugged. "I was getting bored of it." He answered before offering the rest of it. "Would you like the rest? I'm not really into sugar, I just got a silly craving and the idea of wasting it..." He shook his head. Steve understood. Offering a small smile but without a word, the blond took the cone. Bruce's expression grew both grateful and perplexed, but he simply nodded it away. "So there's a café somewhere, I'm gonna try to get some tea and meanwhile you can just draw?" He proposed.

Steve sighed softly. "I just took a pencil, no colors. This," he gestured around them, waving the cone around. "deserves color."

Bruce chuckled. "Figured." He pulled a bunch of colored pencils held but an elastic out of his inside pocket. "Staedtler, my own, please don't loose them." He spoke, before handing them to the blond who gingerly took them. With that, the good doctor shot Steve one last smile and he was gone.

So Bruce was just as bad with gifts as Tony, huh? Both offered without expecting much in return and loathing the thought of being thanked so they made it seem unimportant. Steve didn't know whether to be vexed or grateful for not having room to show his gratitude. Why was it so hard for certain people to hear a simple 'thanks' or let people return a favor? Huffing, he looked down at the pencils and a fond smile reappeared on his lips. Pre-sharpened, some longer than others, but all the shades varying from red to yellow with a wide range of browns in between. Thoughtful. Steve really had no other choice but to hastily bite his way through a melting ice cream before sanitizing his hand _(yes, he was the mom that carried antibacterial gel, thank you very much)_ and start with a drawing.

~*~

When Bruce returned, the lighting had changed and he no longer was alone, Steve heard two set of footsteps. Long, peaceful strides and shorter, more bouncy ones. When he looked up, he found the doctor with a twenty-ish young man with bright eyes and a wide smile. He was talking about something Steve couldn't understand but Bruce could grin at apparently. "Peter." The good doctor gently interrupted, putting a hand on the shorter male's shoulder. "Let me introduce you to Steve Rogers."

The soldier shot a small smile at the shorter male, holding his hand out. Peter took it and shook it with a lot more strength than expected. "I can't believe I'm talking to Captain America." He spoke, awe colouring his voice as he held onto the older male's hand. Steve chuckled, looking down at the hand Peter still held and happily shook, making the younger male blush and let go. "Sorry. Sorry." He chuckled. "Today's like crazy. So I work at the café in the Park right, and I couldn't believe it when one of the brightest scientist to ever graced earth ordered a black chai tea. What were the frickin odds? Five minutes later I'm literary tripping over myself when I brought his drink over."

"To his credit, Peter has incredibly reactive reflexes and caught himself before spilling anything." Bruce cut in, noticing the perplexed look in Steve's eyes.

"You're way too kind." Peter said, blushing a little as he brought a hand to the back of his head. "Anyway, next thing I know I'm talking kinetic energy and physics with an expert."

"Which you almost got fired for." Bruce pointed out before letting out a chuckle.

"Meh. Gunther threatens to fire me at least once a week. He never goes through with it. And talking with you, Dr Banner? Totally worth it." Peter's gaze was filled with a sort of unashamed excitement, very much like puppies upon seeing their owner return after a day. If the faint blush that reddened the scientist's ear was anything to go by, he hadn't heard that sentence often.

Steve cleared his throat. "It's a pleasure to meet you Peter." He told the shorter male. "I'm sure we'll have an occasion to see you again see and further get to know you."

"We will." Bruce agreed, nodding. "I've invited to Stark Industry as my intern. Well, one of Tony's but he'll be working with me if I get a say about it." Peter literally beamed.

"Can you even do that?" Steve asked, furrowing his brows.

Bruce chuckled. "Tony's not really my employer. But yes. I checked with Pepper, I bet his aunt has already received the paperwork. I know some will be expecting me too when we get back." Steve chuckled. One just had to respect Pepper Potts' efficiency. Could almost rivalise with Phil Coulson's when it came to paperwork.

After a small ping, Peter checked his phone, his smile grew fonder upon seeing who the message he'd received was from. "I'm sorry. I have to go and meet my..." A pause. Peter frowned for a second before shaking his head. "Ned." He smiled, gaze growing fonder at the simple mention of the other boy. "When I'll tell him I just met two of the Avengers, he's so gonna loose it!" He excitedly declared before hurrying away.

Bruce laughed, watching the young male go before his eyes fell back on Steve. He rose an eyebrow, holding out an expectant hand for his crayons. Uncertain, Steve debated his options for a second before he pocketed said crayons and took ahold of Bruce's hand instead. For a second there, the scientist was confused. But he didn't say anything, just linked their fingers and brought them to one of his large pockets. The walk back to the compound was a lot slower, but a lot chattier. And despite their acute perception of the colder weather, neither of the men found it in himself to rush.

~*~

The following day was a lot less calm. Bruce woke up to a lot of paperwork. And very little actually from Pepper. No. Most of it was from... Coulson. And S.H.I.E.L.D. Clint snickered when Bruce made his way inside the kitchen with a couple of empty forms, a heartfelt "what the fuck" leaving his lips.

A blushing Steve looked up from his cup of coffee. "You received them too, huh?" He asked. Bruce nodded, expectant.

"Well that's what happens when you're defiling america's icon." Clint cut in before the supersoldier could more diplomatically explain what was going on. Both Steve and Bruce seemed to choke on thin air, loudly coughing up as they struggled to catch their breath while simultaneously hosting a contest to determine whom could blush the hardest. "In all honesty when Tony told me you two were a thing, I didn't believe him. But then I saw this." He slid a newspaper toward Bruce who was still standing in front of their dining room table. The scientist narrowed his eyes but glanced down, noticing his face, his wrinkled, smiling face, looking at flawless Steve who was laughing, head thrown back and eyes shut as he clutched his sketchpad against his chest. Oh God. They were on the cover of a magazine. At the very center, while a Kardashian was in a corner. _They'd booted a Kardashian_. This was bad. This was very bad. "I can't believe I've never seen those huge ass heart eyes." Clint said. "I bet if Natasha knew, she'd be beating herself up right now."

Except Natasha wasn't. She'd noticed Steve's heart eyes before anyone else. She'd interpreted them much better than Bruce too. Sure, he stood besides Tony a lot, so it was easy to get mistaken. But the scientist Steve was crushing on? Was closer to being broke than being a billionaire. So Natasha was actually gleefully enjoying the drama unfurling. She'd called Steve earlier this morning to congratulate him. Because apparently the news of his coupling had reached whatever hole Bucky and her were currently hiding in. When he'd explained the situation, she'd cackled and handed the phone to Bucky, who'd patiently muttered 'only you, Stevie' before giving him a solid advice : To ask Sam for advice.

Bruce heaved a deep sigh, truly considered grunting out there were no heart eyes when Tony made his way inside. And well, he'd agreed to help Steve, had be not? So Bruce put on a brave face, dropped the blank paperwork on the table and moved past it to get to the coffee maker. He was a tea drinker, but currently he needed something much, much stronger. The feeling intensified when he heard Tony pick up the newspaper and read 'more page 23' The engineer had then chuckled and opened the page. "Awww, look Clint, it's a double page picture of our couple." He lifted it up, showing the archer who was back to snickering. Bruce peered above his shoulder and okay. He could admit that with that lightning, at that angle, with those expressions on their faces, they sorta looked like a couple. Feeling Steve's anxious eyes on him, he offered a small tight lipped smile, mouthing an 'I'm O.K' before turning back to the coffee pot. "I'm so getting Pepper to contact the paparazzi and get us all the candids. We could start a scrapbook, whaddya think Legolas?" Clint snorted before nodding several times in approval.

"At least there's only two of them." Steve pointed out, as Bruce took the seat next to him. "That's the silver lining."

Bruce chuckled. "Wait until the rest of the team is back and we'll see if you're still that optimistic." The soldier just offered Bruce a grin that made him duck his head in his coffee and tune out the voice of Clint and Tony as they made scrapbooking arrangements. If the worst part of (faux) dating Steve was the teasing and the paperwork, maybe it wouldn't be too horrible. Seemed feasible with Steve by his side.

"I didn't knew you had a son too. Already?" Clint asked, holding up the newspaper page to reveal a picture taken earlier, of him and Peter at the café. The kid had slid to sit across him, apron still on, and a wide smile on his features as he held a brown tray to his chest.

"And here I thought I'd be the first one they'd accuse of having a hidden child." Tony chimed in.

"He doesn't even look like me." Bruce argued.

"No, but Noah Centineo does. And he sorta sounds like you too." Tony spoke, raising an eyebrow. "Any explanation you feel like giving us, Brucie Bear?"

Bruce just grunted. "I'm so glad someone sensible is coming in today."

"Who?" Tony asked furrowing his brows in disbelief.

"Happy."

Tony snorted. "You have low standards."

"I don't know about that," Bruce said standing up with his mug, planning to very much make an exit. "I'm sorta dating Captain America." He finished, grinning as he walked out of the room. He laughed as he heard Tony sputter and follow after him.

~*~

The following fortnight passed almost unnoticed. Bucky and Natasha returned, exhausted but visibly pleased with the outcome of whatever mission they'd been assigned on. Tony was still working on a special project to ensure that his science bro' would get laid, except now he did it when he was alone in the labs. Which had been not that much since he shared a lab with Bruce, and Bruce had a Peter now. Tony was definitely not jealous of a baby science bro that was a lot closer to Bruce's field than he was.

**_Absolutely not._ **

_Really_ , Pepper.

Because Peter was frickin adorable. And Peter had a Ned. Bruce had Peter. Tony had a Ned. They were raising baby science bros' as a part time gig. No big deal. And they still spent plenty of time together because the baby science bros were attending college. Jim stopped by as well, twice. And Tony was reminded that Rhodey definitely was too smart to be in the military. Sadly for him, only one of his best friends would let him put him on a payroll and it wasn't the one friendly with the military.

_Then Coulson stopped by._

Now everybody loves Phil. Agent Coulson on the other hand, meant Avengers were required or worse, paperwork. It was the worse option. But only for one person: Bruce.

"Oh, you, you really expected me to fill all that?" Bruce asked, raising an eyebrow as the Shield Agent handed him a bunch of forms.

"Yes." Coulson replied, aloof and patient. Like he was sighing a petulant child but didn't want to show how amused he was by their behavior.

"Can't Steve do it for the both of us? I bet he did it." The scientist argued.

"Ah yes, Mr Rogers has very diligently filled his formularies. Sadly you are required to do the very same still." He replied, the hint of amusement growing obvious in his gaze despite the soberness of his traits.

Bruce sighed and took the papers. "I'll fax it when I can." Was his sole reply. But Phil took it as a win, watching the scientist leave the communal kitchen.

"Do you think he truly bought it this time?" Clint asked, getting out of a vent.

Phil chuckled. "I think so." He replied.

"I still can't believe Steve just filled it all with no questioning...." He spoke, grinning at the other male. "You're a legend, and I love you."

Phil laughed, turning to fully face the archer. He brought a hand to Clint's cheek and leant in to press a kiss to his lips. "I love you too." Came the reply, making the blond furiously blush. Phil carefully took off Clint's earring aids, before pocketing them in the front pocket of his jacket and signing something far more intimate for Clint, and Clint only, to comprehend.

~*~

Bruce stepped into his lab, brows furrowed as put down his cup of tea to further skim through the paperwork. "Fri."

"Yes, Dr Banner?"

"Do you know of Steve's current whereabouts?"

"Yes. Captain Rogers is currently sparring with Natasha."

"Not Bucky?"

"No, Mr Barnes is currently, and let me borrow from Master Stark's vernacular, 'getting his ass kicked' by Mrs Carter."

Bruce's lips curled up. He knew there was a reason why he liked Sharon. "Alright, thanks Fri. I'll be heading downstairs as well." He replied.

"Of course, Doctor Banner." Came the A.I's reply.

Bruce took it as an indication that the conversation was over and stepped back into the elevator. How in the hell had Steve managed to fill those forms when the questions were so intimate? Why did Shield even care about where their first date took place or whom kissed whom first? That all sounded ludicrous. The first couple of questions made sense, but the more Bruce read, the less he believed Steve could've answered all that about him, about them. The doors pinged and the good doctor stepped out, heading to the training room.

"Hey Bruce!" Sharon chirped, holding a frustrated supersoldier in a headlock. Yeah, that probably was in the top ten reasons why Natasha was dating her. It would, if it was Bruce who was writing the list.

He blinked a few times and gingerly reciprocated the mark of acknowledgement with a shy wave, merely a movement of fingers as he walked past the first mat to Natasha and Steve. They were at it with bō staff and neither seemed to be holding back.

"Bisexual awakening worthy, am I right?" Tony asked, standing beside Bruce.

The scientist chuckled at his lab partner once the startlement had passed. Right. He'd been the one suggesting Tony train with Steve. But seeing his best friend, actually sweaty, red cheeked and definitely sporting abs, well, it was a sight. "Oh yeah." He agreed, blinking a few times. "You got abs?"

"Always had, yeah. Went from a six to eight pack thanks to the Capsicle." He chuckled. "Context really ruins the fun out of certain sentences." Bruce laughed a little at the remark. "But what brings you down here at such a busy time?" Tony asked. He knew Bruce came. Early morning and late night. Where there was no one else. To do yoga or let out some frustration at a wing chun, sometimes both. Not Hulking out was straining. Hulking out was draining. Bruce never had just the right amount of energy. Either too much or not enough.

"Actually it's that." He lifted up the form he held in his hand. "I need to talk about those forms to Steve." Tony nodded, smiling just a little. And what Bruce misinterpreted as amusement from the situation was actually amusement from knowing that this definitely wasn't Shield's doing. Well, maybe technically in a way it was, since Clint had put them together and he was an agent. When Natasha sent Steve to the mat with a large thud, the two scientists looked back at them.

"Hello Bruce." The redhead spoke, tucking a loose strand of her short red hair behind her ear.

The doctor grinned. "Natasha. Busy are we?"

"Not at all. We were about done actually." She replied, before peering at Steve who was still laying down, panting a little. The blond nodded in agreement, holding a thumb up, making Tony snicker. Natasha glanced toward her girlfriend who was standing beside Tony, Bucky on her other side. It was a sight for everyone to see Steve and Natasha spar. She picked up fast and despite his enhanced reflexes, there wasn't much the blond could do when she dodged hits and used dirty tricks. Natasha was used to taking on bigger opponents, Steve needed to get used to playing dirty and found that he didn't need to hold back too much with her. It was good training for both of them. "Shower?" Natasha proposed, putting her staff back on a rack. Sharon nodded and the two headed out.

"Shut up." Bruce said, sensing that Tony was about to say something inappropriate when his lips curled up.

"I'm gonna have sugar coated cornflakes straight out of the packet right before lunch." Tony replied eyes narrowed as he glanced toward Bruce who offered a frown of disapproval. The man was starting to know Tony far too well, it was ruining his fun. But Tony also knew Bruce cared deeply about his health for some reason so he used that to threaten the other. Nothing ever too bad. Just a poor diet or an impertinent amount of coffee intake instead of sleep.

"In his defense," Bucky cut in. "whatever Tony was about to say, we all thought of it at some point." He admitted before spinning on his feet and leaving as well.

"I'm starting to like him." The engineer said aloud before poking Bruce's side. "I'll see you later, Brucie Bear. Unless you want to join me in the shower?"

Bruce rolled his eyes. "Buy me dinner first." He replied.

"I did. I own everything here. So I technically have been buying you dinner for quite a while." He pointed out.

The scientist chuckled. "By cooking I provide a service to your goods creating an added value I am in no way remunerated for." He rationalized.

"Using logic against me..." Tony brought a hand to his chest, a faux wounded look on his features. "I thought it was our thing. Yet here you are, betraying me." Bruce pressed his tongue against his bottom lip, teeth sinking on either side of it for a couple of second after he let out a chuckle. "Alright, fine. I'll shower alone. Your loss." Tony said before poking Bruce's side and leaving.

The scientist's eyes fell on Steve who was still laying on the mat. He rose an eyebrow. "Playing dead, are we soldier?" He asked, taking off his shoes before he stepped on the mat. "Were you secretly hoping the paper work and I would disappear if you wished it hard enough?" Bruce asked, hovering over Steve.

"Maybe." The blond admitted, sitting up.

"Honestly, I'm not even bothered. Just... confused. There is no way you could fill all that about me, about us." Bruce said. "Like, what's my favorite flower, or what cologne do I wear."

"Yeah," Steve chuckled. "I might've wildly guessed for that. Pensies for the flowers, they mean thoughtfulness and rememberance. Comes from the word 'pensée' which means 'thought' in french, befitting don't you think? It's not like they're gonna check." His eyes widened, panic filling those baby blue orbs. "Or are they? Can they? Have they?"

Bruce chuckled at the distressed look that passed in the supersoldier's gaze. "No. And I don't think they will." He sighed. "You know what? I'll fill those damn forms."

"You really don't have to, it's just silly, I'm sure I can just tell Phil the truth and he'll keep it for himself."

"Nonsense. You did it so thoughtfully for me. I can do the same. You deserve the same. Hopefully next time it'll be all real." Bruce told the blond, offering a supportive smile. "I bet Tony will be more then eager to give that sort of details."

Steve lightly furrowed his brows for a second before embarrassingly chuckling. Right. Tony. "I'm sure he will." He agreed, letting out a soft chuckle.

"Okay, but whatever you told them for the first date, first kiss, first–" Bruce scoffed. Had it been anyone else, literally anyone else who had brought him the forms he would have doubted of their veracity. But it was Phil. And Agent Coulson never joked about Paperwork. "I wonder what's the most pretentious way to say 'none of your business' maybe I'll look it up."

"With all due respect, I believe this private matter hardly regards the bureaucracy, thus the piece of information demanded will not be disclosed."

Bruce chuckled. "That's good. Did you come up with that?" The blond nodded, lips curling up as the scientist scribbled it down with a pencil. "I swear, if it wasn't Coulson who had brought this himself, I'd believe this is a joke."

Steve sighed. "Tell me about it."

Bruce's eyes shifted from Steve to the paperwork for a couple of seconds before he sighed and sat next to the soldier cross legged. "Alright, hit me soldier." He said. "First date."

"Coffee. Actually in the tower. Stealth dating. You said you weren't ready to go out and face people yet. So I made sure to pick a moment there'd be nobody else in the tower and convinced you to leave the tower to have a cup of tea with me. At least you got tea, I got a coffee and you said that if I added eggs and flour I'd have a solid coffee cake seen the amount of sugar I put in."

Bruce smiled at the memory. "Right." He chuckled. "Clever spin on the truth there." He told the blond, jotting down notes about the memory. "Is it when our first kiss happened?"

Steve scoffed. "Please, Bruce. I don't kiss before at least the third date. But you definitely were the one with cold feet so it took us like five dates to get to the hand holding. That's where we are now. No kiss."

Bruce furrowed his brows, eyes narrowing for a second before he smiled. "Okay. I can get behind that. Better than a complicated lie." Steve nodded in agreement. "Did you make up all the personal answers about me?"

Steve shook his head. "No, only the ones I couldn't answer."

Bruce frowned as the implications of the sentence downed on him. "There were some you could?" He earnestly asked.

"The majority, yeah. I'm huh.." Steve rubbed the back of his neck. "Very observant."

Bruce silently nodded. "Well," He embarrassedly chuckled, standing up. "I'll see you later." He offered a tentative smile and left. Because what the fuck? How could he possibly be developing a crush solely based on the fact that someone had claimed to know him well? So what if Steve was very thoughtful and that extended to him? Steve was also very into Tony. And Bruce, well Bruce was just one of Tony's best friends.

~*~

By the evening the forms were fully completed. And whether he liked it or not, Bruce was faced with the fact that he knew a lot more about Steve than he liked to admit. Leaving the paperwork at his desk, for now, the scientist turned off his console and exited his personal laboratory. As he made his way to the elevator, the scientist realized just how little time he'd spent there in the past few months and couldn't help the small smile that curled up his lips. Gone the solitary hours that easily turned into days. Now either ACDC was blasting as he worked with Tony humming in the distance or Ned and Peter throwing meme references around and rushing to one another to have celebratory high-fives. Well, to be fair, that one habit came from Tony and him. And luckily for everyone, Peter and Ned didn't yell 'for science' every time they got excited and high fived, like Tony and Bruce would.

Stepping out, Bruce smiled when the smell of meat pie reached his nose. Neither Steve nor Bucky were in sight, so he suspected they were in the kitchen with Sam. Bruce noticed Natasha watching Clint and Sharon have a thumb war with the softest expression he'd ever seen in her gaze. "There you are!" Tony called. "Okay, so right now, we're all betting that Sharon will win, she's the underdog but her odds are great. Clint's older, his muscles are more tired. You want in? Bidding starts at a nickel. Don't look at me, Bucky is the one who started it."

Bruce snorted. "I'll put a full dollar on Clint." He replied, chuckling when the fellow Avenger yelled 'Huzzah!'.

"Well, Steve and you were the only ones who put money on Clint so if he wins, you'll win like 11 dollars and 3 nickels to split." Tony informed, clasping a hand on Bruce's shoulder.

The scientist snorted. "Three nickels?"

"Some people here are really cheap. Not my fault." Tony replied. "By the way, I was thinking of offering Peter and Ned a scholarship. Full ride through any uni they could get into."

"Tony...." Bruce warned, frowning a bit.

"No, not as a gift, gift. More as a promise. We've seen what the baby science bros can do. I wanna poach them before anyone else could. God forbid they end up working for Wayne entreprises or worse, Hammer industries. In exchange for the scholarship, they'd have to work here as interns at least a year. And if they do good, eventually get a more permanent job. What do you think? You know how poorly remunerated interns are. It totally makes up for it."

Bruce snorted. "I bet you'd try to adopt them if they were children." He replied, grinning.

"What do you mean? Ned totally got me a mug that says best dad in the world." Tony replied.

"I'm fairly sure it said _best sugar daddy_ in the world, and was a joke."

Tony gasped, offended. "You're just jealous because your protégé isn't as thoughtful as mine."

Bruce just laughed it off. "Only you Tony."

The billionaire smiled brightly. "Does that mean you're not opposed to the scholarship idea?"

"Not if Pepper has lawyers write solid contracts that says they have to work for Stark industries two years post graduation. Don't present it like a gift Tony, offer it like an opportunity they earned."

Tony nodded. "God I'm so glad to have another friend who speak english." He squeezed Bruce's shoulder before letting go. The engineer glanced past Bruce's shoulder and grinned. "A'ight, I'm gonna check on my kitchen. I truly hope Sam and Bucky are making out in there."

"Not. I think you meant not, making out." Steve corrected, making his presence known as he stood beside Bruce.

"No no, I meant what I said." Tony replied before turning away from the two.

"How can you spend several hours in his company and remain so zen?" Steve asked, glancing at a fondly smiling Bruce.

"Says the one who has a crush on him." The scientist replied, not sounding nearly as amused as he should. Bruce furrowed his brows, not particularly liking what that new development implied.

"About that..." Steve rubbed the back of his neck, seemingly awkward.

"Oh." Bruce's eyes widened. "I've been mentioning it so carelessly, haven't I? If it makes you feel awkward, I can stop. I swear."

Steve chuckled, shaking his head as he looked at the shorter man with a gaze entirely too fond to help Bruce's crush about him. "Actually, it's not that." He paused, wetting his bottom lip. "Bruce, would you mind walking with me? Just to the rooftop, for a small talk. We'll be back before Clint can down a pie, I swear."

The scientist smiled, his expression overall amused. But there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. "I don't," Bruce drew in a short breath. "I don't think I should be your confident regarding your relationship with Tony, Steve." The gamma expert lowered his head, wringing his hands as he went on : "I care for the both of you, obviously. And I want you to be happy, Steve. Of course. But I don't think it'd be too good for me to hear about your crush on Tony. I, I realized recently that I've developed feelings of my own."

"For Tony?" Steve asked, incredulous. The blond's eyes widened, twitching for a second before he furrowed his brows, steeling his expression as his shoulders sagged.

"No." Bruce replied, looking up to anchor in dark orbs in Steve's bright blue eyes. "For you." He sighed, lips parted. "Don't worry, I don't expect you to feel anything back. I mean, you're you and I'm, but, I wanna, I wanna try to salvage our friendship? And I would never stand in the way of you and Tony. You both deserve happiness far too much. I'm just, I'm not sure where I'm going with this..." Bruce shook his head, cheeks heating up. "I think I needed to say it. I need you to let me down gently so I can move on, you know? Lick my wounds, gather my bearings and keep,keep" the scientist stuttered, belatedly noting the intensity with which Steve was looking at him. Like he was waiting for something, ready to literally bounce out of his skin. Like an incredible happy golden retriever who still wants to be a good boy. "Wh-what?" Bruce asked, brows further creasing.

"Can I kiss you?" Steve asked, earnest as ever. Bruce's eyes widened at the question. He blinked a few times, wondering whether or not the blond was serious. The scientist swallowed thickly, not trusting his words, he chose to nod.Blue eyes bore in his as the distance between the two men was slowly reduced.

"Oh for Christ's sake, Rogers! Speed up, there's pie!" Tony called in the back, making the two men promptly separate. "What, did I step on your moment?" The billionaire asked, raising a defiant eyebrow, an amused smirk on his lips.

"Please, by now I'm used to you being a diva, Stark." Steve replied. "Nothing can quite ruin this moment." With those words, he grabbed the front of Bruce's yellow button up and brought the man so much closer, finally allowing their lips to meet.

Discovery of the day: Natasha wolf whistles particularly loud.


End file.
